November 22, 2010

A collaborative effort of 175 scientists from 104 worldwide institutions has resulted in the discovery of 30 genes that control the age of sexual maturation in women. Many of these genes are also responsible for body weight regulation and fat metabolism. Menarche, the onset of menstruation, is a widely used marker of sexual maturation; early menarche is associated with diabetes, obesity, heart disease and some cancers later in life. Other studies have found that some women have a genetic tendency towards weight gain and early puberty. Said senior author Joanne Murabito, "It is important to understand that these 'genetic factors' can be modified by changes in lifestyle. Efforts to reduce or prevent childhood obesity should in turn help reduce the early onset of puberty in girls.”

Researchers at Loyola University Health System believe that taking a break from bisphosphonates, a class of osteoporosis medications that can cause fractures in the thigh bones and/or tissue decay of the jaw, may be beneficial to bone health. "These drugs are potentially harmful when taken for long durations, yet little has been known until now about the length of time osteoporosis patients should go without treatment for this debilitating condition," says Pauline Camacho, MD. "Our study demonstrated that bones can remain stable for a number of years after these drugs are discontinued." Researchers say further study needs to be done to determine the optimal duration of the drug holiday and that patients should be constantly monitored by their physicians during a hiatus.

People who buy their own insurance plans may be eligible for health care rebates starting in 2012 if their insurers don't meet new regulations to spend at least 80 percent of their revenue on direct medical care. Details of the new regulation were released today, says MSNBC. Once the regulation goes into effect, many people may qualify for the rebates. The government estimates that about 45 percent of people buying their own health insurance are covered by plans that don't meet the new standard of spending at least 80 percent of revenue on direct medical care. MSNBC reports that if the law were in effect right now, around 9 million people would get rebates.

Kids whose parents get divorced have twice the risk of having a stroke later on, claim researchers from the University of Toronto. Even after researchers controlled for other risk factors for stroke (diabetes, smoking, obesity), the link remained. Study researcher Esme Fuller-Thomson says that the link between divorce and stroke risk should be further investigated. While the study findings revealed a link between stroke risk and kids of divorce, the study doesn't conclude that kids of divorce are destined to have a stroke, reports MSNBC. The study results are based on 13,000 individuals in Canada. The people suffering strokes were mostly over age 65, meaning that they came from divorced families at a time when their was more social stigma attached to divorce.

While syphilis was almost wiped out just a decade ago, the disease appears to be making a comeback in the U.S. A new study from the CDC reveals a 39 percent increase in syphilis in 2006 to 2009. CNN reports that the study findings show that most new cases are occurring in young black men, mostly homosexual. The CDC is recommending that men who have sex with men get tested for syphilis yearly, in addition to testing for gonorrhea, chlamydia and HIV. The new study also revealed that syphilis in women is on the decline, and fewer people in the U.S. contracted gonorrhea last year. The CDC also reports that while chlamydia rates are still high, they're stable, with only a 3 percent increase in 2009.

Women are misjudging how much they weigh, say researchers from the University of Texas Medical Branch. "As obesity numbers climb, many women identify overweight as normal, not based on the scale but on how they view themselves," says corresponding author Dr. Mahbubur Rahman. Research revealed that almost 25 percent of overweight and 16 percent of normal weight women 18-25 years old misperceive their body weight. Researchers also discovered that overweight and obese African American and Hispanic females were much more likely than white women to categorize themselves as normal weight when they were overweight. Overweight women who think of themselves as normal weight were also significantly less likely to engage in weight-related behaviors like dieting.

Many doctors either aren't aware of current guidelines or they chose not to follow them by requiring a pelvic exam before a prescription for birth control pills is written, reports MSNBC. A new study, published in Obstetrics and Gynecology, found that 44 percent of doctors usually require a pelvic exam before they'll write a birth control pill prescription. Experts say that while a pelvic exam is important, it's also safe to prescribe the pill without giving a pelvic exam. Since requiring an exam may cause a women to delay getting the pill or put it off altogether, experts say the study results are troubling. Doctors in private practice were twice as likely as family-planning clinics to require the pelvic exam.

What your mother ate while she was pregnant may have determined your propensity for weight gain. A new animal study published online in the FASEB Journal shows that eating a high-fat diet - 35 percent or more of calories coming from fat sources - during pregnancy alters the function of genes (epigenetic changes) that regulate circadian rhythm and appetite. A specific gene affected includes one called Npas2, a key regulator for both sleep and food intake. The research also found that the children of those eating a high-fat diet were more likely to develop non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Lead researcher Kjersti Aagaard-Tillery MD PhD says “We are enthusiastic that even small changes…will translate into a lower chance for obesity in our next generation.”